Háborúzik
by lavenderghost
Summary: Hungary's experience in the Second World War may not be the most well known but it is among the most interesting. It was a time of revenge, betrayal and dreams of glory gone by. Hungary's story of 1918-1945
1. treaties and defeats

_So clicked on this story did you? Thanks! I appreciate it tell me whatcha think huh?_

* * *

Another explosion rocked the city. The Soviets were drawing ever closer. The once lively streets of Budapest were now tattered with rubble. Every so often men, women and children would be spotted running away from the chaos, the old, the young, the sick and the frail. Some would be seen alone. Some would be seen in family units. Some would have bags and other possessions. Some would have nothing but the clothes on their back. All bore the same expression of hopelessness, of defeat. Hungary staggered over to the nearest bench and collapsed. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she dared glance at the wound on her side, nasty stuff. Blood was seeping down her leg and her arm was painted red where she'd been holding it. She sighed and closed her eyes, too tired to even curse anyone for her trouble.

She sat there for a while just breathing in and out, eyes sealed shut, as more Soviet artillery ravaged her beloved city. She wanted to fight for her home but what good would it do? Now Russia was unstoppable and the war was lost. If anyone thought otherwise they were just plain deluded. Unfortunately Germany and his bosses seemed to be plain deluded. Rushed footsteps on the streets in front of her then broke her train of thought.

„Halten die Sowjetischen Bastarde wo sie sind!" One of them shouted.

Hungary opened her eyes to glance at them. It was just a bunch of SS nutjobs. They paid her no heed as they ran off towards the frontlines. Good riddance. Hopefully Russia would slaughter the lot of them. Actually it would be preferable if they blew each other apart.

How did it get like this? How did blood line her streets? How did she get caught between fanatics and psychopaths?

* * *

A was a dreary French corridor, Hungary reflected, rather bland considering France's love for extravagant beauty yet it completely fitted the atmosphere. Faint mumbling could be heard from the room nearby. She could identify who was talking, mainly Britain and France but sometimes America and a few others, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. They seemed to be disagreeing which given Britain and France's history was hardly a surprise. Hungary hummed to herself in an attempt to lighten the mood but it wasn't very effective.

She turned to the man next to her; he hadn't stopped staring at the floor since they arrived. His expression of more than worry, it was despair.

"Mr Austria?" She placed her hand on his and squeezed lightly. He darted to attention and blinked at her several times. She gave him a smile, one which she hoped said 'everything will be OK'. He returned it but his eyes told a different story to the smile. "We'll be fine," she told him.

Austria sighed and looked away. "This is all my fault, I'm sorry."

"You've apologised enough. It isn't all your fault, we've been through this. Everyone holds some blame. You never told Germany to attack France and Belgium. You never declared war on Britain or Italy or anyone first. You never knew this would happen," she stroked his arm to try and comfort him.

"Serbia," he muttered, "I attacked Serbia. You tried to stop me but I did it anyway. If they take anything from you, it'll be my fault."

"Just shhh now," she squeezed him tighter.

"I've been a lousy fighter. You've always had to do everything for me."

"I think you're selling yourself a bit short there."

"I just lost to Italy, for God's sake. Italy! I raised that boy and now I had to fight him in the greatest war there's ever been! Why on earth did he turn on me like that?"

It was a relief when another figure walked in just as Austria seemed about to break down in her arms.

"Err hello?" A mob of silvery blond hair appeared besides them.

"Prussia," she nodded at him. Austria straightened up immediately. "Why are you here?"

The Albino man cleared his throat. "Well, it's just that I had my one of these a while ago and I heard you guys were going to have the same thing today so I just had to check in. See if, you know, it's all OK," he seemed to have trouble admitting to his reasons for being there.

"We're fine. You can go away now," Austria told him.

"Geez Austi-jerk, I didn't have to do this you know. West is still at home moping around because of how close we were."

Hungary groaned, "Please don't fight now. I am not in the mood to smash both your heads together."

"He started it!" Prussia whined.

"I don't care, just stop." Hungary held her head in her arms. "Prussia, I appreciate you coming over and so does Mr Austria really." Austria snorted so she elbowed his ribs.

"Danke, that's all I needed," Prussia crossed his arms and smiled. "Are you guys-" he began but was cut off.

"Unacceptable! Just like with Germany!" Britain's voice suddenly bellowed from the next room. More mumbling followed but she could have sworn she heard America say something which sounded like "too harsh". This was not giving her any optimism.

The door finally opened and the mumbling died down. "Sorry to keep you waiting," Belgium was holding the door open. "We're ready for you now." As Austria and Hungary rose, her expression stiffened suddenly as she noticed Prussia. "What are you doing here?" she asked him coldly.

"Nothing," Prussia replied while scratching the back of his head. He turned to Hungary, "I, er, I should go."

"You should," Belgium agreed.

"Good luck," Prussia said as he turned away.

Hungary waved him farewell as she entered the room. It was vast and just as foreboding as the corridor outside. Belgium led them to the centre of the room and gestured for them to sit in two wooden chairs. The chairs were facing a platform and on that platform sat the victors of this war. In the centre sat Britain, France and America. Dotted along were other countries which had been on their side of the conflict. She briefly made eye contact with a grinning Serbia and her blood boiled, desperate to wipe that smirk off his face.

As Belgium took her seat, Britain shuffled through some papers in front of him. He looked weary, in fact they all did. Everyone except from America anyway. Instead America looked rather bored as though there were somewhere else he'd rather be. He kept fiddling with a pencil in front of him and making faces as he looked around the room. He notably kept looking just about everywhere other than at Austria or herself. Now she thought about it Britain also seemed to be avoiding eye contact with the pair of them. Either that or those papers were very, very interesting. Of the three in the centre only France could hold her gaze. He looked far worse off than Britain, his blond hair was dirty and unkempt and scratches covered his face and hands.

"Ah-hem," France began. Only now did Hungary notice that the place felt like a court room, they were being trialled and sentenced. "If you'd please hand them the terms?"

She was confused for the briefest of moments when there seemed to be a second America handing her and Austria pieces of paper before she remembered this was Canada. With an intake of breath she glanced down at what was written in front of her and her world came tumbling down. "I-I no! You can't do this!"

Besides her Austria choked as he read it and let out a quiet whimper.

"God damn it, France," Britain buried his face in his hands.

"It is a bit much…" America looked at them both for the first time, sympathy clearly showing.

"Bah!" France snapped at them, "You two! Too soft to know what must be done! It is easy for you both to talk of such things when you live on an island or an entirely different continent. The war never came to your lands. It never ravaged your beautiful country."

"It hit ours pretty hard and we get this on top of it!" Hungary stood up and waved the treaty at them. "70% of my land gone! 70%!" She looked at it again. "Romania!? I'm supposed to give away land to Romania!? That jackass barely did anything and when he did, I smashed him into the last century!"

"He gets points for trying though," Britain still didn't glance up at her.

"No. We're not agreeing to this, are we Mr Austria?" There was no response from the other half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. "Mr Austria?" She turned to Austria to find him still transfixed by the treaty in front of him. She bent down next to him and caressed his face. "Mr Austria?" She asked again, more gently this time. It was horrible to see Austria, her Austria, like this. A man so proud and so strict, yet so loving when he needed to be, like this. A broken shell of the man she knew.

"I-it's all gone, my entire empire. Everything I worked on for centuries. I've lost everything. I've lost you." He pointed at one of the clauses. Austria and Hungary were to be independent nations once more and forbidden from unifying ever again. She felt herself shake with anger and sorrow.

"What gives you the right?" She asked the room in quiet fury. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO SPLIT US APART?!"

"We won the war," Serbia stated with a shrug.

"Oh, _you _won the war did you, Serbia? That's funny as I remember pounding your face into the ground. If it wasn't for Russia and those two," she gestured at Britain and France, "I'd have destroyed you. I'd have torn down the entire God Damn Balkans!"

"Dude, calm down!" America held out his hands.

"I will not calm down!" Hungary yelled at him. "Why are you even here anyway? You think you can waltz in here right at the end and claim you had any part in this?! You haven't earned your place here!"

"Hey, I was trying to get you a better deal!" America protested.

Hungary's rage continued and she pointed at the next random country to take her anger out on, which just happened to be Japan. "You!? What did you even do?"

Japan looked awkwardly at the other countries. "Well, I assisted Mr Britain in-"

Hungary interrupted him with a snort. "Oh, you 'assisted' Mr Britain did you? Truly the course of the war hinged on your actions!"

A hand was placed on her shoulder, Austria's hand. "Please, stop?" It wasn't an order, it was a request.

Hungary held her head down low. "They can't do this to you, to us," her voice dropped several decibels.

"We can," France interrupted. "You are in no position to negotiate."

"Damn you," she muttered as she collapsed in her chair. "Damn you all."

* * *

"I should begin moving my stuff out tonight," she told Austria once they were outside.

He nodded, "prolonging it would simply make it harder."

"Oh Austria, this isn't how it was supposed to end," she was now fighting back tears. This is ridicules, crying is for wimps and little girls. She never cried.

"No, it wasn't," he agreed. They both stared at each other for a while, neither daring to talk.

"I'm just saying that if you actually listened to me, you'd be a lot better off," Britain was saying from behind a corner.

"No, _you'd_ be a lot better off, I'd just be another of your lackeys," America replied.

"Hold on," she told Austria and marched off in pursuit of their voices.

"Do you see me as some sort of evil puppet master? Skilfully manipulating the world for my own gain?"

"I wouldn't say _skilfully_ but-"

"Hey!" Hungary interrupted them.

"Oh no, I'm telling you it's too late to change anything," Britain told her.

"Please it can't be."

"I feel for your plight, we both do, but you must understand this is the best we could do," Britain explained.

"_This_ is the best you can do?" Hungary waved the treaty in front of their faces.

"You did not want to see what France originally proposed," America shook his head.

"Miss Hungary, I've lost more of my boys to the battlefields of that war than you or Austria. 886,939 to be precise and yes I remember that exact number. Add in the casualties of my Empire and I've lost more than the both of you combined. Explain how I, an apparent 'victor', could lose more than you? France was hit even worse and he is far more angry than I have ever seen him and we go way back him and I. There must be repercussions. Whether I agree with the current terms or not, I recognise the need for punishment and to prevent there ever being another war on this scale again," Britain said.

"But I didn't want this war! I tried to stop Mr Austria attacking Serbia, I did!"

"So we should punish Austria instead of you?" Britain rose one of his large brows.

"No! That's not what I meant!"

"I know," Britain nodded. "I don't think anyone wanted this war."

"I dunno, you should see all that money I got from selling all that crap to you and France," America smiled. Both Britain and Hungary glared at him. "Maybe later then."

"Much later," Britain snarled.

"Anyway, I'm done with this Euro-crap. Next time you guys starting killing each other, I'm not running over to help," America said as he started to walk off.

"Wait you're leaving?" Britain held out his hand. "I thought you were going to stay and help out?"

America shrugged. "Maybe I'll send a little money over."

"Fine! Go retreat to your little cowboy world with your fingers in your ears! You'll regret it! Mark my words!"

She pulled Britain's arm to grab his attention once more. "Just imagine if you'd lost this war and had a treaty like this one thrown in your face. How would you feel?"

"I would be heart broken," he replied truthfully as he pried her grasp off of his arm. "I'm sorry," he said and marched off in the same direction as America.

She went back to find Austria but he'd gone. After a quick check around the building and asking if anyone had seen him, she decided he must have gone back to their home, to his home, not hers. This wasn't going to be easy. She and Austria had been together for centuries now even if he'd only recently started paying her the attention she'd wanted. Yet amongst all the darkness there was even the slightest glimmer of excitement. She would be doing things for herself again. Perhaps it wouldn't quite be the old times, on horseback, bow in hand, hunting for straggling Turks, but a faint whiff of nostalgia hit her as she remembered the Hungarian forests she loved so much.

"Why are you smiling, you little wrench?" France was glaring at her suspiciously.

"Oh nothing."

"Good, you have nothing to be happy about," he sniffed and walked off.

She resisted the urge to crack his skull open with her frying pan. When had he become such a jerk? He was always a little whiney and his creepy attempts at wooing her in the past had left a bad taste in her mouth but he had never seemed quite as cruel as he did today. One thing was for certain though, if he'd treated the Germans anywhere near as badly as he'd treated her, Prussia would be every bit as willing to kill the Frenchman as she was and Prussia was a lot less restrained than her. Maybe this wasn't as over as everyone had hoped.

* * *

**_A/N: So yeah, hope France isn't too douchbaggy here but remember whose POV it is. Actually when it came to Austria-Hungary it was America who had a raging hard on for destroying the Empire not so much France but in all other respects the harshness of the treaties came from France. America didn't much care what happened in Europe and Britain wanted to keep the defeated powers strong enough to resist France in case they were backstabbed, even after being allies in the biggest war there'd ever been Britain and France didn't trust each other. I'm also aware that the treaties for Austria and Hungary actually took place a while apart from one another but for story telling purposes they're going on together ;) pop me a review if you'd please or a PM if you actually want to talk about this... or anything really... talking to strangers on the internet is a lot of fun_**


	2. Forests and Prussians

Hungary stalked her prey through the forest. Holding her bow tight as she skilfully manoeuvred her way past a thicket of brambles, she listened out for the slightest of sounds which would give away her enemy's position. The crickets were still chirping, the birds were still singing and the trees were still silent. Her foe was crafty this day. But she'd come out ahead, she always did. Something on the ground caught her attention. A footprint. She traced her fingers over the shape in the mud and knew she'd found her target. There was a snapped twig in the direction the footprint was headed in. Not so crafty. Actually as reckless as always. She followed her target's path, it wasn't hard. The area was beaten and the grass down trodden. Keeping an eye out for traps ahead, she glanced up at the tree tops. No sign of any activity up there, not even the birds. Something or someone had scared them away and she had a good idea who. He was somewhere around here. Then she saw it. For the briefest of moments there was something white amongst the greens and browns of the forest. It disappeared behind a bush but she knew just where to aim. A mischievous smile graced her face as she withdrew an arrow from the quiver on her back. Feeling the string strain against the wooden bow, she released and sent the projectile hurdling towards him.

"Ha! Gotcha!" She yelled triumphantly just as he squealed in pain.

"No-no fair!" Prussia grunted as he staggered out of bush. "How'd you find me?"

"Because you're stupid," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm so not! I'm too awesome to lose to a loser like you!" He whined as he dislodged the blunted arrow from his armour.

"Just admit it; I passed all your tests," Hungary deposited her bow on her back strap.

"There's just no way that a girly man like you could pass my tests," Prussia snorted.

"Do you want to play again?" She asked reaching back for her bow.

Prussia took a few steps back. "I-I fine!"

"Yes!" She pumped her fist. "You really mean it?"

"I guess I don't have a choice," Prussia snarled, "Come on then."

Prussia sprinted off into the shrubbery behind him. He was fast even if he couldn't hide very well. "W-wait up!" She called as she too disappeared into the undergrowth.

She followed his bizarre 'kesesese' laughter until they reached a clearing. It was unusually bright compared to the rest of the forest and it meant that the tops practically glowed green. In the centre was one particularly large tree in sharp contrast to the flimsy looking trees scattered about the clearing. Prussia was standing underneath this tree, clumsily carving into the bark with his sword.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she walked up beside him.

"Shh," he motioned her down with his hand.

"You know that will damage your sword, right?"

Prussia just snarled and continued chipping away at the tree trunk until he had managed to carve in a cross loosely matching that on his armour. "Behold the most awesomest symbol in the world, that of the Teutonic Knights," he gestured at his carving.

"Yeah, yeah, just tell me what I have to do next."

Prussia looked slightly put down but then a mischievous gleam twinkled in his crimson eye. He held out his sword to her and said, "You need to cut the palm of your hand."

"What?! I'm supposed to cut myself?" She drew back in disgust.

"Ha, I knew you were a wimp!" He smiled triumphantly.

"Am not!"

"You are too! Hungary is a little girl! He's scared of a little blood!"

"I am not a girl and I am not scared of blood!" She huffed and snatched the sword from him.

"Wait, are you actually going to do it?" Prussia's eyebrows rose.

She didn't reply other than slicing her palm slightly, deep enough to draw blood but not so deep that it did anything more than sting a little.

"You-you did it?"

"Surprised?" She smiled.

"Ha! I can make you do anything I want!" Prussia did some strange hopping dance until Hungary kicked him in the shin. "Fine, put your hand on the cross," he mumbled, rubbing his knee as he did so.

She did so and saw that she'd left a slight blotch of blood in the middle of the cross.

"Congratulations!" She felt Prussia's hand around her side. "You are now an honorary member of the Teutonic Knights!"

"All right! I knew I was good enough, I'm way better than you at everything anyway," she cheered.

"Hey! I am way more awesome than you could ever hope to be!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Prove it!" She dared him.

"Fine! I'll race you back to the nearest village," Prussia smiled, he was faster and they both knew it.

"You're on!"

"Ha! Victory is mine!" Prussia turned and ran but Hungary got out her bow and took aim. A quick arrow to the leg left the German stumbling to the ground; he had enough armour to ensure it was nothing serious. "Cheat!" He yelled after her as she dashed past.

* * *

Hungary was torn from her pleasant memories by shouting outside. She yawned and rolled over to the other side of the bed. "I-I'll get rid of them, Mr Austria." She reluctantly pulled herself out of the duvet to gaze out the window.

A vast crowd of men and women were marching past her house outside. They were holding signs that she was too tired to read. She groggily rubbed her eyes and then shut the window on the protesters. Exactly what they wanted she wasn't sure, be it jobs, food, security, revenge or just how they dealt with general unhappiness. Whatever it was there was nothing she could do. Tension was running high and there was no one either willing or able to help her now. Mr Austria was forbidden to even speak to her now and Germany had the same crisis going on at his place. So it was a surprise when someone knocked on the door.

"Prussia?" She blinked in surprise at the man at her door, very aware she was scantly dressed in her night clothes.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He bounced, with an attitude clashing horribly with the angry crowds in the nearby streets. "I-oh," he had started to talk before he noticed her clothes. "Shall I, erm, come back later?"

"No you can talk but stop looking at me like that," he blushed and gazed upwards. "What are you doing here?" She glanced at the clock behind her, "it's early."

"I figured that now the loser is off your back you'd want to hang out again," he gave an excited grin.

"Don't call him that and no I don't have time to 'hang out'."

"Don't have time? What are you doing?"

"Look around you," she gestured at the streets of marchers, "I have to deal with this."

"How?" He asked.

"I-I don't know but I have to do something…"

Prussia shook his head, "You're getting yourself worked up, West is the same back at our place, after what's just happened people are going to be angry it happens. It'll fizzle out soon and things will work out."

"You sure about that?" She asked sceptically.

"Of course, we're two awesome people and we've been through some bad times but we always pull back. When we do, we'll kill France and live happily ever after."

"Hm, that sounds nice," she smiled.

"So what do you say?" He asked hopefully.

"I can't," she told him, "I really, really can't."

"Pleeease?" He looked reminiscent of a puppy dog.

She sighed, "Fine," she relented and Prussia pumped his fist into the air, "just not too long."

"Awesome, I know just the place!"

* * *

After donning the appropriate clothing, she'd followed Prussia to one of the forests they used to play together in. They'd struck up a conversation on the way which was initially pleasant but had inevitably turned to their darker situations.

"-and Romania is pissing me off," she growled at the thought of her troublesome neighbour.

"The vampire? What's he doing now?" Prussia quizzed.

"He's not a vampire, he's just a freak and he's sitting his army in my land, says they're 'peacekeeping' and 'in accordance with the will of the Allies'," she snorted. "Asshole is just waiting for an opportunity and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Prussia shook his head, "the Hungary I know wouldn't stand for that, she'd kick his oversized teeth in."

"Believe me, I want to," she muttered darkly.

"What about the payments?" Prussia was asking, obviously keen to move on. Once she started on Romania it was usually difficult to change subject. "You made any of them?"

"No," she replied. "France was angry but I just can't afford them, I need that money to just feed the people but I have to give a load to that lot. It's impossible. Have you?"

"Sort of," his face twisted up.

"Sort of?" She repeated.

"Well Britain has been kinda paying them for us for a bit. France was still pissed about that too," he chuckled slightly.

"Really? I thought you were paying to Britain as well."

"I am but he's covering them for some reason. I guess he's not that bad," Prussia shrugged, "he was just on the wrong side that's all."

"It's weird but I thought he hated France and Russia."

"He does," Prussia nodded.

"And he always seemed quite pleasant to me whenever we worked together."

Prussia snorted, "I was _allied_ with him before I passed the torch onto West."

"So why was he on their side not ours?" Hungary pondered.

"Kese, it's simple," Prussia looked from side to side.

"Oh?"

"He's totally got a crush on Belgium."

Hungary giggled, "Really!? Since when?"

"I don't know when it started but the moment she's in trouble he comes running in on his high horse with dreams of heroically saving the girl, come on!" Prussia grinned.

"I can see it!" She beamed. "Does she know?"

"I don't think so; she's really grateful and said he was a 'true friend'."

"Ouch," she grimaced.

"Tell me about it," Prussia replied.

"Do you think we should try and get them together?" She asked.

"What?! Play match maker to our enemies?" Prussia gaped.

"The war is over; they could do with a break."

"What about me? I could do with a break!" Prussia huffed.

"Oh? Who should I set you up with then?" She teased.

"I-I no one!" Did he just flush a little?

"As I thought, the 'awesome Prussia' loves no one more than himself," she rolled her eyes.

"And don't you forget it!" He shook his fist at her.

"Hang on," she stopped to look around, "is this…"

She'd been following Prussia through the forest the whole time. She'd thought he was wandering aimlessly and they were merely having a chat as they walked but he'd been leading her here.

"Yup," Prussia grinned. He ran over to the large tree in the middle of the clearing. The cross was still there.

"Wow," she whistled. "It's still standing," she said as she approached the tree. It had grown even larger over time but it wasn't over grown. Someone had been taking care of the tree and making sure that cross stayed in shape. Someone. She looked over at Prussia who was now leaning cross armed against the tree.

"What do you reckon?" He asked.

"Amazing, this was like a thousand years ago. I think I had a dream about this last night."

"Really?" Prussia blinked.

"I think so," she paused as she cast her mind back. "That induction ceremony…"

Prussia coughed, "What about it?"

"It wasn't real, was it?"

Prussia held back a laugh, "You believed it all this time!"

She shook her head, "Just as well, I would have shown you up all the time."

That had shut him up. Prussia raised a finger but looked stuck about what words to use for his response so he instead made a series of angry noises.

"So why show me this now?" She asked

"When Austria was around you never wanted to come out with me," Prussia shrugged.

"I suppose not," she sighed thinking about how much she'd brushed him off. "I'm sorry about that, I would have liked to go but Mr Austria always had something for me to do, something I wanted to help him with."

"I get it," he nodded, "I guess you really liked him, huh?"

"I really do," she admitted. "This is so strange, it's like nothing has changed," she said as she placed her palm in the centre of the Teutonic cross.

"Nothing has changed," Prussia said.

"Everything has changed," she turned to him. "We're not children any more. War isn't fun now. I don't know if war has just gotten worse or I've grown up but that last one…" she shook her head, "That was not fun."

"Only because we lost," Prussia replied.

Just before she could open her mouth to respond, the bushes nearby rustled and footsteps sounded from its location. "There's someone here," she told him.

Upon hearing her speak, a male voice from the bushes called out then came stumbling into the clearing.

It was a man dressed in military clothing. He was panting and sweating while looking relived to see her. He gathered himself enough to offer her a quick salute which she returned.

"Something I can do for you, soldier?" She asked.

"I have been looking everywhere, the new Government urgently requests your presence," the man gasped.

"Wait, what new Government?" She squinted in confusion.

"The Hungarian Soviet Republic," the man replied.

"S-Soviet?! Like Russia? Communists?" She looked from the man to Prussia, her jaw gaping. "H-how did this happen? How did I miss it?"

"It was quick, bloodless. They're in charge now," the man confirmed.

Hungary stood in silence for a moment, taking it all in.

"Hungary?" Prussia called her, bringing her back to attention.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone with you. I knew something bad would happen!" She snarled and dashed away, leaving Prussia to stand there awkwardly by himself. Russia was in Civil War, the poor man was tearing himself apart and it was because the Soviets took power, just like they'd now done here. She rushed back to the capital hoping desperately she could prevent her own lands from following Russia's fate.

* * *

_**(A/N): Oh Prussia, you amuse me so. I was conflicted to describe child!Hungary as 'he' instead of 'she' but it may have been too confusing. The timeline with these events following WWI in Hungary is all over the place and would be difficult to make a cohesive story out of so I will be simplifying things and details missed, if you're that interested you can find it out on your own. Not many people seem to know about Hungary's brief stint in Communism in this era, it's easily overshadowed by events in Russia but still **_**_relevant as the first Communist Government outside of Russia._**

**_So enjoy and review, children! :D_**


	3. Friendship and Russians

Nervously, Hungary knocked on the palace door. What the soldier had said had been true; the communists were her masters now. Suddenly she found herself even more isolated than before. To say she had been friends with her new neighbours was never exactly true but now they had become openly hostile out of fear, fear that she would spread the revolution to their lands. But it hadn't been too bad, right? No one had been killed and maybe, just maybe, things might start going better. The last Government had hardly been effective so things could only get better from here….

The door finally creaked open just a fraction and single violet eye peered out at her from the darkness inside. She drew back slightly in surprise just as the eye vanished and the door flew open. Russia stood in the doorway, wrapped up in his heavy coat and scarf and complete with his famously blank smile, one which was enough to make most people feel uneasy.

"I was beginning to think that you were not coming here," Russia began, "I was starting to get very lonely."

"Yeah well, new boss's orders, make friends with you," she shrugged. Russia was not someone she'd gotten on particularly well with in the past. He'd spent a lot of time recently trying to ruin poor old Mr Austria, anyone who did that was sure to incur her wrath, as Prussia had often found out to his horror. Even the last time they'd seen each other had been on the opposite sides of the battlefield. Then he'd left the war and gone home to quell the revolution, everyone was surprised when Russia announced he'd abandoned his original plans and _joined_ the very Bolsheviks he'd originally set out to destroy. At the time, she'd condemned his choice alongside everyone else but now they were alone together. If Russia did hold a grudge over their past, he thankfully didn't seem to show it.

"Where are being my manners?" He stepped aside and gestured for her to come in.

"Thanks," she nodded, "it's freezing out there," she shivered as she hopped in the doorway. Despite coming fully wrapped up in her winter coat, gloves, scarf and warmest hat, she could still feel the hairs on her skin standing on end, still had to try her upmost to stop her teeth chattering together whenever she opened her mouth. It wasn't just the weather though. It was cold, freezing in fact, here at Russia's place but the man himself seemed to drain all heat from the environment with nothing but his own presence; he was a living, breathing endothermic man. Except that the heat he absorbed didn't seem to go for any other use, it just vanished.

Russia shut the door behind her and threw the entire opening hallway into darkness apart from the one measly, flickering orange lantern Russia was holding in his right hand. "I am really sorry, my power is out. But do not worry, we can find room with window," he said chirpily.

"Lead the way," she told him, knowing there wasn't really another option.

He hummed tunelessly as he led her through his corridors. She couldn't make out much of the building in the dark but it didn't look as though it was in great shape. "I am glad there is someone else with me now, being in the dark by myself is so scary," Russia said.

_He really is child in a man's body,_ she thought.

"This place was once filled with my friends," he continued, "Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and my sisters but they all left me here by myself. I miss them."

She felt a slight prang of sympathy but at the same time knew that all those countries had left willingly, even Belarus. "I'm not doing too well myself at the moment, Russia. That's why we have to make friends with each other, right?"

Russia turned to her, the lamp flickering every so often, illuminating his face. His features were barely visible in the darkness, except she could tell he was smiling. Not just that strange, creepy smile but an earnest one. "I would be liking that very much," he said as he pushed open a wooden door to his right.

The sudden light from the room almost blinded Hungary. In the darkness of Russia's house, she'd almost forgotten that the sun was rising now. Russia gestured for her to go in. Inside the room were various disorganised filing cabinets with brown files and papers hanging out of them at awkward angles. The end of the room had a single grimy window from which the light came. Hungary had to admit, the sunrise was pretty. The orange blob of a star was half showing on the horizon, its rays dashing the skies with red and pink stripes and casting long shadows on the bare trees below.

"Your view is so pretty, Russia," she told him.

"Oh?" Russia was setting the lamp down on the floor as she spoke but he soon joined her at the window, a happy grin appearing as he gazed at the view. "You are right; I should take more notice of these things. Maybe world isn't always as dark as I think it is."

Russia continued to stare out once Hungary had lost interest. After a few minutes of leaning against the wall and waiting for him to snap back to earth, she loudly cleared her throat. Russia blinked in surprise and turned back to her. "Are we gonna do this?"

"Do what?" He asked.

"I don't know, set up treaties, trade deals, military pacts… just be friends."

"Are you wanting to be friends with me?"

"That's why I'm here," she told him.

"Then we are friends," he said happily.

"That's it?"

"That is it," Russia nodded.

"Well…. My new boss will be very happy, thank you, Russia," she gave him a little curtsy.

"I can sense that you are worried about your leaders though," Russia cocked his head to the side.

"Of course not! All power to the Soviets!" She pumped her fist in the air. Russia did not look convinced. "Fine," she sighed, "I have my doubts."

"Why? It is a noble cause to bring equality to the world, to destroy greed and exploitation."

"It's difficult to disagree with that," she agreed, "but the methods used… they give absolute power to themselves in the process, can you not see how that may go wrong?"

Russia shook his head, "They are the voice of the people and the people know what is best for themselves. I spent too long doing what my Tsars said. They were like my mothers and fathers. I did love them so very much. But now my eyes have been opened and I can move again at last."

"Russia?" She asked tentatively, "What happened to the Tsar?"

Russia looked down as he played with his feet, like a child being scolded. "I… I didn't do anything."

Hungary sighed, "You see? It's a nice dream but people are going to suffer in the process."

"What is phrase?" Russia paused, "if you are wanting to eat omelette, you must first smash eggs."

"But I don't want to break eggs!"

"Then no delicious omelette for you," Russia shrugged.

The two shared an uncomfortable silence as Hungary glared at him suspiciously. "Whatever, let's just… forget it OK? I guess everyone panics about every new idea that comes along so maybe it'll all be fine." Russia nodded approvingly. "Anyway, saying we're friends is all well and good but we need to actually do something with it."

"Oh?" Russia's smile seemed to drop slightly.

"Yes, we need to get some sort of benefit out of it."

"Friends with benefits?" He asked innocently.

Russia was clearly unaware that what he said could be taken another way. "N-no, well yes but not…" she stuttered. "Listen, my country is in a really bad way right now, our economy is down the drain and I'm pretty sure my neighbours want me gone, now with my new Government they have an excuse and my armies aren't strong enough to do the job right now. Please Russia, can you give me something? Anything?"

"I-I can't…" Russia whispered, suddenly looking very emotional.

"You must have something you can spare?"

"I have nothing. My people are starving and I'm in the middle of a war with… myself…. I can't… I'm too weak. Why am I always too weak?" Russia began muttering under his breath. Hungary couldn't make out what he was saying but she began to feel more and more uneasy every moment she spent here.

The next hour she spent with Russia had been unproductive. He'd been in a strange mood, stranger than usual, ever since she'd asked for help and Hungary saw little point in staying any longer. It was just when she was out the door he called out to her again.

"When I am strong again, I will help you. I will come for you and all my friends who left me. We can be friends again!"

She nervously waved him goodbye as she picked up her walking pace.

* * *

Hungary felt a great deal of sadness as she returned to her capital. The Communists had been in control for a few months now and the changes were clear. The monuments she remembered building for her heroes of old were being torn down, no place for them in communist Hungary, she was told. Instead she saw the bearded figure of Karl Marx gazing down on her from his podium where before there'd been a statue of a Hussar.

Even more worryingly, there'd been talk of people going missing; People being executed without trial. There should have been something she could do but she'd been distracted by war, again. Despite her own reservations, she was ordered to attack the Czech and Slovak twins in the north, to get back some of what she'd lost so unfairly in those treaties. It had gone surprisingly well but France had intervened. He offered a deal, she'd stop that war if Romania finally left her land, seemed fair enough except that _someone_ hadn't honoured the deal.

As if on cue, an apple hit her on the back of her right shoulder. Sighing internally, she turned to face the man who'd thrown it. Sitting in the nearest apple tree with a sly grin on his face was Romania, God how she hated him, from his stupid little fangs to his stupid little lopsided hat.

"Something I can help you with?" She asked, barely keeping her anger down beneath her false politeness.

"Naa, I just like messing with you," he chuckled.

She picked up the apple he'd thrown and launched it back at him. "Go suck on a horse!" She snapped as it struck him square in the forehead.

"Hey!" He growled as he rubbed his head.

"Why are you still here?" She demanded, hands on hips.

"I'm fulfilling the wishes of the Allies," he said in a stock phrase he used every time she'd asked before.

"No you're not! Even France says you have to leave! Now! I don't want to see your ugly face around here again!"

His face crumpled in mock sadness, "Aw, don't be like that," he said as he leapt out the tree, stumbling slightly and almost losing his hat as he landed. "I'll just take the official documents handing your eastern territories over to me and be off."

"Ha, nice try. Haven't you taken enough from me?" She asked coldly.

Romania sniggered and drew close to her. "Not even close," he whispered.

She resisted the urge to clasp her hands around his throat. "I said get out, would you like me to make it clearer?"

"Oh I will, but first you fulfil my demands. Then I'll leave you to cry yourself to sleep over your lost love in peace, filthy Communist," he grinned cruelly.

Her anger was building up further, she knew she should get away from him before she did something rash but her legs wouldn't move.

"That's what you do isn't it? Cry over 'poor Mr Austria'? I bet that he's jumping for joy, I mean, why would he love you? There's nothing feminine there, you were manlier than him! That wuss coul-" *THUMP*

Her fist cut him off before he could go any further. Romania staggered backward with a gasp. He stood for a moment holding his jaw as he gazed up at her, rage flashing through his piercing red eyes. Then he smiled and slowly broke into laughter.

"You threw the first punch," he said triumphantly, rising up to his full height and straightening his hat.

"And I'll throw the last one too," she snarled.

"Don't count on it," he said turning away. "Budapest will be in my hands by nightfall!" He shouted, breaking into a run.

Hungary stood listening to his chuckles fade into the distance as it sank in. Of course he'd been baiting her, how could she have been so stupid? She shook her head slowly and resigned to her fate. There was no way her people were shaped up for an invasion, not now. To be humiliated by Romania, how could she have fallen so low?

* * *

_**(A/N): Oh my God, I love writting Russia like this. Creepy yet seemingly innocent manchild. Also appearing here is Romania, a character I have to confess I'm not as familiar with as the other characters. So far the only times I've even seen him is when he turns up for a party in one of the strips, stares at Hungary with mutual hatred and has a flashback to his Soviet days with Bulgaria (who I'm also fuzzy on) and that blink and you'll miss it moment in series 5 of the **_**_anime with Britain in the magic club. He seems decent enough, unless you're Hungary that is._**


	4. Parties and Britons

They'd been forced back towards the capitol now. Hungary could see Romanian soldiers standing in the distant hills, outside of her range. She had no artillery available to target them with, no guns with able to hit at that distance and aircraft were far too expense and difficult to manufacture. Sooner or later those soldiers were going to march right on them.

"Miss?" One of her soldiers was speaking to her. "We've been asking for volunteers from the city, we should be able to get a sizable defence force."

"They won't be soldiers," she sighed looking over the Romanian camp. "They'll be boys and old men, won't they?"

Her soldier nodded grimly, "They will still give their lives for the defence of this city."

"I know they would," she paused, "but I don't want them to. Send a messenger over there. We agree to their terms," she resigned herself.

"We can still fight!" The soldier protested.

"So can they and they can do it better than us right now," she admitted with gritted teeth. "I said send a message to them."

* * *

Hungary and Romania sat opposite one another. Both refused to look at the other. Instead they sat there, arms folded and sulking. They'd been locked away together in a small, dark room like squabbling children told to apologise.

"M-miss Hungary?" The soft voice of Italy called gently. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, thank you Italy," she replied curtly.

"I don't like to see you hurt," Italy continued, "you're like my big sister, you know that?"

"Hmm?" She turned to him in surprise. "I didn't know you still felt that way. Not after… you know."

Italy suddenly wrapped his arms around her and began to talk at the speed of light, "I'msorryI'msorryI'mreallysorrythatIsidedwiththeme speciallyasIsaidI'dsidewithyouandGermanybutMrAustr iawasbeingsoooscaryandthenbigbrotherFrancesaidthat -"

"It's alright!" She cut him off. "I forgive you! If we couldn't ever be friends with a country we've fought against, we'd all be lonely. Hell, I've tried to smash Austria's head open before but we make up, right?" Italy nodded enthusiastically. "There we go!" She gave him a warm smile.

Romania snorted loudly. "What in world is wrong with him?"

"Don't you dare start on him!" Hungary snapped.

Romania held up his hands in mock surrender but before Hungary could retort, Britain slammed his hands onto the table in between them, causing Italy to jump back in fright.

"Enough! For the love of- The pair of you stop it!" Britain glared at them, looking from one to the other and staring them both out individually until neither could hold his gaze. "Now what part of '_The war to end all wars'_ did you not get?! This shouldn't have happened!"

"I think of it as more of a continuation," Romania shrugged, "she refused to meet our conditions-"

"You weren't obeying the terms either!" Hungary interrupted.

Romania continued as though nothing had happened, "-her aggression towards Czech and Slovakia-"

"I- fine! But that was hardly a war! Don't act like you care about them!"

"-and finally it was her who attacked me!"

"You were goading me for it! I just snapped!"

Britain groaned and held his head in his hands. "Just-just stop talking. I don't need to hear any more of this nonsense."

"But Britain, you should not be so harsh," France too appeared alongside Britain. "Let's not forget that Romania is our friend. We should stand by our friends."

"He's not my friend," Britain said bluntly.

"Hey come on, pal," Romania protested, "We've got so much in common."

"Just because we can both see _them_ doesn't mean we're friends. I don't have friends, I don't need them," Britain replied stubbornly. "I'll tell you what I see here," Britain walked over besides Hungary, "I see a greedy, ambitious little blood sucker who seeks to further his power at the expense of his vulnerable neighbour."

Hungary blinked in surprise. "Are-are you siding with me?" She turned to him.

"I suppose I am," he shrugged then paused and backtracked, "I mean; I'm not doing it for you!"

"Erm, sure," Hungary hid her knowing smile.

"Ah, Britain always sides with the ladies," France grinned.

"What? No! Don't _you _try and pull that on me!" Britain shook his fist

"H-hold on here," Romania suddenly seemed a lot more flustered, "I won the war, I'm in control so I get all the Eastern territories!"

"You-" Hungary began but Britain put his hand on her shoulder.

"No, as I'm feeling generous, you can keep _some_ of those lands, the ones where your people are a majority. The rest is returned to her," Britain said firmly. "Oh and as you're taking Hungarian land, you get a share of the Hungarian debt," he added.

"B-but then I'll take money from her! Lots of money!"

"Excellent, that means you won't need any from the other Central Powers, I'll be sure to stop your cheques from Germany, Turkey and Bulgaria. Anything else?" Britain asked.

Romania looked down at the desk in front of him, clearly recognising every demand he made would be met by another condition. "Nothing else," he replied softly.

"Good show," Britain nodded approvingly. "I want your soldiers out immediately."

"Sure," Romania responded half-heartedly, he slouched over and began to give Hungary death glares.

"Excellent," Britain looked at Hungary, Italy and France in turn, "Any other points to add?" He was met with silence. "Meeting disbanded."

Hungary immediately rose from her seat to avoid being left with Romania for company. An idea began to form in her head, it seemed unlikely but then again it had to be worth a shot. She followed Britain for a while as he made his way out of the building until she eventually caught his attention.

"Mr Britain?"

He turned with a solemn expression. "I know, I know. I should have done more but I-"

"That's not what I was going to say," she cut him off.

"Oh? Then what were you going to say?" He raised his large eyebrows.

"I was going to say thank you, I guess. I didn't expect anyone to stick up for me at all."

"Well like I said, I didn't do it for you. I did it for me!" Britain retorted.

"How do you gain anything from this?" She asked him, genuinely confused.

"I-erm… I just do! I don't have to explain myself to you!" Britain launched into a defensive tirade.

"OK, OK, yesh. But do you know what I think?"

"Do I care?" He rolled his eyes.

"I think you're a nice guy who tries to hide it behind grouchiness and sarcasm. So I was wondering if maybe you'd like to be friends?" She nervously extended her hand.

Britain stared at her hand for a long while before responding. "F-friends? With me? Why?!"

"All my neighbours hate me, well except Mr Austria but I can't even see him, so I'd like to have someone watching my back, maybe you?" She asked hopefully.

It was an agonising wait. Britain seemed to just stare forever; his eyes had done that weird thing only he seemed capable of doing, where the green of his eyes along with his pupils seemed to disappear completely as his mouth hung ajar. "Friends with me?" He finally repeated.

"Yes! Just consider it, please," she was starting to feel a little exasperated by his attitude.

Britain stared a while longer before responding, "Well," he said slowly, "well alright. But I don't want any alliances or deals or treaties or anything! All that rubbish is what got us into that mess of a war before!"

"I can accept that, I guess," Hungary nodded, "so long as you're there for me."

"I suppose so," he finally shook her hand. "After seeing what the others want to do to you and your defeated friends you need someone to watch out for you all, France and Romania are rather like vultures circling your rotting corpses."

"That is not an image I wanted to see," she told him. "Wait, 'my friends'? As in all of us?"

"Yes, you've given me a rather smashing idea, if I do say so myself. I'm going to look out for you and Germany and everyone, you all need it. I didn't send my boys to die in the hundreds of thousands to prevent German hegemony in Europe just to give it to the frog, he's probably even worse. At least Germany doesn't try to get into my pants whenever we meet," Britain snarled at the last bit.

"Everyone? Including Austria?" She asked.

"Hm? Oh yes, him too," Britain nodded.

"Take care of him for me," she told him.

Britain nodded again, "I understand he means a lot to you. I can't think why, he always seemed rather stuffy to me although I always enjoyed listening to him play. Also he makes to good cakes and his sausage is to die for!" Britain licked his lips.

Hungary blocked an impure thought from her head. "_You_ think he's stuffy?" Hungary asked disbelieving.

"A little bit, er, no offense," Britain clarified.

"None taken," she grinned. "I suppose now I just have to worry about a fractured Government and crippled economy, huh?" She joked.

"It's that bad, is it? I'll see if I can sort something out," Britain said thoughtfully.

"Mr Britain, I think you've done more than enough," she reassured him.

"Nothing's ever enough," Britain muttered. "Not after what I agreed should happen to you." He paused. "Those reparations, you can forget them."

"Huh?" She blinked in surprise. "What will France and others say?"

"Since when have I ever cared what France thinks?" Britain smirked.

"I-I don't know what to say," she stuttered.

"Don't say anything, I helped cause this mess. Here, I'll hold a little social gathering soon. Invite everyone and see what happens," said Britain.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hungary asked, unwilling to socialise with Romania.

"You have to change that attitude. Reconciliation is the only way we can avoid conflict in the future. So do what I do and smile through gritted teeth at people you can't stop thinking about punching. It's working so far." Hungary smiled. "That's it," Britain nodded.

* * *

"Enjoy the occasion, Madam," the doorman said as he handed her back her invitation.

"Thank you," Hungary replied, flashing the doorman a quick smile as she stuffed the invitation back into her small black handbag and walked up the stone steps to enter the main hallway. She had to take careful steps as she wasn't used to walking in high heeled footwear. The double doors slowly closed behind her. Hungary took a moment to marvel at her surroundings. Britain knew how to put on a show. The hallway was shining gold paint and its walls adorned with paintings, some showing men and women long dead, others showed battles won. She paused to admire the detail placed on a Spanish ship in one of the paintings. _Battle of Gravelines _was carved in gold beneath the painting. Hungary glanced at the other paintings nearby: _Inkerman, Waterloo, Agincourt, Crecy _and so on. Naturally the way Britain greeted guests was to first show their humiliating defeats by his hands with not a single painting of _his _loses.

"Man that was really painful," someone said from behind, making Hungary jump up in shock.

"Spain," she nodded in greeting. She must have been so caught up that she hadn't noticed him come in behind her. He looked rather smart in his tuxedo tonight but he didn't seem to have touched his messy hair. "You were there?" She asked, inquiring about the painting.

Spain nodded, "Yep. See that one on fire?" He pointed to a ship at the edge of the background. "I was on that. It really hurt. I was in the infirmary for, like, a week. Yeesh. My advice, never invade England, even if he deserves it. Ass."

"I'll bare that in mind," she told him.

Spain paused and gazed over at the heavily decorated doors they were to head through. "You hear that?" He held his finger up.

"Music," she replied.

"They've got a band in there!" Spain clapped his hands together excitedly than grabbed Hungary by the arm. "Let's check it out!" Before she could react, Hungary found herself being pulled towards the wooden doors.

"H-hey don't pull me all of a sudden!" She ordered but Spain ignored her.

"Hola amigos!" Spain shouted as the two of them burst into the main room. "Boss Spain is here so the party can start!" He began wiggling his hips suggestively as Hungary struggled to break free from his grasp.

_Please don't make it look like we came together,_ Hungary thought to herself as the eyes of the room fell on the pair of them.

"Hm?" Spain seem to realise she was pry herself free from his arm. "What's the matter?"

"You're, arg, embarrassing," she struggled further.

"Aw, no I'm not, I'm adorable," Spain chuckled.

"Yeah, why don't you go play with Romano?" Hungary muttered.

"Romano is here?" Spain turned and scanned the room allowing Hungary to break from his grasp. Hungary turned expecting to have to fend the Spaniard off further but he already seemed to have lost interest and had darted straight for the Southern Italian brother who happened to be munching on a rosetta roll in the distance.

Now that she had a moment, Hungary took in the room. It had a wide open celling decorated by paintings of men, women and children surrounded by flowers in some sort of meadow. The walls continued with the golden theme at the entrance. At one side of the room was a raised stage with an orchestral band playing a rather up beat tune she didn't recognise, it had been them who'd obviously grabbed Spain's attention earlier. There were quite a mix of instruments on stage. Trumpets, drums, violins… she'd always wanted to learn the violin. She meant to ask Mr Austria if he could teach her but something had always been in the way. Putting those thought to the back of her head she turned to spot a group of circular tables at the far side of the room arranged with four chairs each and all covered in a white table cloth. Behind them stood a buffet with various foods on it. Nothing heavy, just snacks. It was clear that those tables were for the main meal. Dotted around were different nations all dressed up for the occasion in their finest clothes. It was odd to see everyone like this as they tended to wear the same thing day in and day out, she herself was no exception. Hungary took a quick scan of the room to see if she could find someone to strike a conversation with. It wouldn't do to just stand her all alone for the evening.

America was stuffing his face by the buffet. Switzerland stood by himself, leaning against the wall, arms folded and glaring at anyone who came near. Poland, who thankfully hadn't arrived in a dress, was hovering around poor Lithuania who looked desperate to shake him off. Japan and Germany seemed to be in the middle of a pleasant conversation. Latvia and Estonia were trembling from Sweden's scowling gaze in the corner. China, Taiwan, Siam and the Korean twins had formed their own separate group. Spain was still playing around with Romano, despite Romano being clearly flustered. That asshole, Romania, was trying to show off by juggling some glasses in front of a gawking Bulgaria. Greece seemed to have fallen asleep in a chair with a bit of drool hanging from his mouth. Britain himself looked deep in conversation with Belgium as her brother, the Netherlands, stood next to her examining his drink. There was only one person dancing to the music and that was little Liechtenstein. She looked so cute in a pink dress with ruffles, caught up in the music by herself and letting her arms and legs swing about.

"Hey, Liechy," Hungary went to talk to her.

Liechtenstein instantly stopped dancing and blushed bright red. "Oh Miss Hungary, I didn't know you were here," she said in her soft voice.

Hungary ruffled the girl's bradded hair. "Don't look at me like that, you looked very sweet, dear," Hungary told her kindly.

"Thank you. That is very kind," Liechtenstein curtsied politely. "You, erm, look very nice tonight, Miss Hungary."

Hungary remembered she was wearing a rather low cut black dress which showed off her figure and began to feel a little guilty parading herself in front of someone of Liechtenstein's perorations. "Ehe, sorry about that," she apologised. "I should have worn something less… revealing."

"Au contraire mon cheri," France butted in between them. "It makes you look ravishing."

"What?" Hungary replied bluntly.

"That's not to say," France turned around to Liechtenstein, "that this beauty doesn't have a charm of her own, non?"

"Er, Miss Hungary, he's scaring me," Liechtenstein whispered under her breath.

"Look France," Hungary began, "in a weird way, I actually preferred you giving me death glares whenever we walked past one another. Cut the creepy flirting, please?"

"But I am offended!" He protested. "I simply admire beauty wherever it is found whether it is in a man or a woman."

"Or an animal? I heard if it moves you'll go for it," Hungary said slyly.

Liechtenstein giggled then caught herself and flushed brighter red than before. "I-I'm sorry, Mr France," her smile didn't look very sorry however.

France looked from one girl to the other then mumbled something under his breath and stormed off. "One of these days…" Hungary muttered.

"Er, thanks, he's a little creepy sometimes," Liechtenstein said but then tried to take it back, "I mean, I'm sure he's nice but-"

"No, he's creepy," Hungary agreed. "How are you holding up by yourself?"

"I get lonely without you and Mr Austria sometimes but I think I'm doing OK, thanks," Liechtenstein told her.

Hungary gestured for the girl to come closer so she could whisper into her ear. "Do you know what?"

"What?"

"I get pretty lonely too these days," Hungary admitted.

"Really? You?!" Liechtenstein seemed surprised. "But you're so strong!"

"So? I still miss you all," Hungary sighed.

"Wow, thank you," Liechtenstein beamed than suddenly looked embarrassed again, "I mean, not that I want you to be lonely but I'm glad I'm missed. I'm sorry."

Hungary laughed, "I knew what you meant, don't be silly."

"I- gosh. I have to go to the bathroom," Liechtenstein excused herself, still red as a tomato. It wouldn't be surprising if Romano tried to bite her.

"Kese, looks like your ugly face scared her away," Prussia chuckled behind her.

"Funny, she didn't leave until you came in. Sure it wasn't someone else?" She turned to face the German.

Prussia looked her up and down, "Erm, hi," he said.

"Hey there, having fun?" She replied.

Prussia nodded, "You look, er, what's the word?"

"Awesome?" She finished.

"Er, yeah, awesome," he agreed.

"You're not looking too bad yourself tonight, mister," she admired his dinner suit. "Surprised you've come to talk to me instead of them," she gestured at France and Spain who had begun to chat together.

"I haven't gotten along with France for a long time," Prussia grumbled. "I thought you knew that."

"Kinda, but I thought maybe with Spain-"

Prussia interrupted her. "No," was all he said.

"OK, I won't press it," Hungary submitted. "I'm struggling to find _anyone _who likes France right about now."

"That's because he's a dick," Prussia said bluntly.

Hungary failed to hold back a laugh and playfully slapped Prussia's shoulder. "Stop it. We can't be vulgar at a time like this."

"Why not?" Prussia protested, "Just because we're surrounded by suits?"

"Because it's very posh, very prim, very… British. It's just like something out of Jane Austin's books!" Hungary added excitedly.

"Who?" Prussia raised his eyebrows.

Hungary sighed, "Never mind, you uncultured brute."

"It's… a nice place but I'm not sure if it's really my thing," Prussia glanced around. "See those paintings when we came in?"

"Yeah, they were very pretty."

"You know what I noticed?" Prussia grinned.

"What?" Hungary asked curiously.

"Not a single one of him beating you or me up there," Prussia grinned triumphantly. "We're just too good."

"Actually," Britain interrupted, causing Prussia to turn in alarm, "I fight when threatened. I'm a creature of the sea. The Prussian navy has usually consisted of little more than an inflatable boat. I've never really bothered with you." Prussia blushed almost as bright as Liechtenstein had. "A pleasure to see you both," Britain tipped his head in greeting.

"Likewise," Hungary curtsied politely.

"And, if I may add, you look positively radiant tonight," Britain continued.

"Oh, thank you," Hungary smiled.

"OK that's enough," Prussia said.

"My apologies, I didn't realise that you two…" Britain looked from one to the other.

"Oh no, no, we're not- God no," Hungary laughed.

"Ehe, yeah," Prussia scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Britain coughed loudly, "Well moving on. Pleased to see we almost have a full house. No sign of Czech, Slovakia or Serbia."

"Good, having any of them here is the last thing I need," Hungary said. "What about Russia?" She'd been a little nervous on the prospect of meeting Russia again tonight, they hadn't spoken since their agreement of friendship but now the Communists were ousted, Hungary wasn't too sure what would become of it.

"He declined my invitation," Britain replied. Hungary breathed in relief. "Something about me being the 'picture of the bourgeoisie', I wasn't really listening. Ukraine said that 'something had come up' and Belarus hasn't appeared either, that's worrying."

"Worrying how?" Hungary asked.

"That they're both missing? Chances are Belarus has gone back to her brother. I suppose it could have been inevitable given the strong sibling bond she has," Britain shrugged.

"Sibling?" Prussia repeated sceptically. "I'd never chase West the way she chases him."

"Nor is my affection for Scotland or Wales so high," Britain, or England as he used to known, agreed. "As for Ukraine, I've heard its chaos over there. A chaos Russia may be trying to take advantage of to get her back. It's deeply concerning that a communist Russia may be consolidating power. I've often said the man is like a sleeping giant and once that giant finally awakes, it'll be something to fear. But I didn't host this event to talk about Bolshevik scares, how are we all?"

"I'm alright I guess," Prussia shrugged.

"This is wonderful, Mr Britain," Hungary beamed.

"It is?" Britain replied.

"The atmosphere, the music, it's like a fairy tale!" Hungary she continued.

Prussia scrunched up his nose while Britain chuckled, "You know it's funny but Austria said the same thing to me.

"Austria?!" Hungary repeated in shock. "H-he's here?"

"Certainly, I was speaking to him out on the balcony earlier," Britain clarified.

"Oh," Hungary gazed over towards the open door on the balcony. When she turned back Britain was smiling.

"Go on then, Prussia and I have things to discuss," he said.

Prussia turned to him. "We do?"

"Well, alright. See you both later," Hungary marched towards the balcony, hardly daring to breathe. She hadn't seen him since the night with the treaties. What if he was enjoying himself without her? What if he was better off? Had he changed? She shook those thoughts to the back of her head, they were juvenile, she told herself.

Squeezing past Denmark and Norway, she spotted Austria leaning off of the stone balcony. "M-Mr Austria?" She hesitantly called out.

Austria seemed to tense suddenly and turned to face her. They both stared at one another for a moment. He looked magnificent this evening, if a little outdated. Dressed in all black like her, the moonlight twinkled off of his spectacles. It worked well on the backdrop of a gaslight filled London in the distance, just over the rolling green hills. The fact that his suit looked more like it would fit in a century ago was all part of the charm.

"Hello," he finally said.

"Hi," she replied breathlessly. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!" She few into his arms, nearly making the Austrian loose his footing.

"It-it's good to see you as well," he admitted, patting her head.

"You've been taking good care of yourself haven't you? You can cook your own meals and clean your own home and-and-"

"Relax," Austria told her. "I am not a child; I managed to do all those things before you lived with me. I would have continued to do them if you hadn't been so insistent."

"I know, but you're pretty bad at them," Hungary confessed.

Austria huffed, "I can still take care of myself. Although, perhaps I did get too reliant on you. Here," Austria unrolled his sleeve to reveal an ugly mark. "I burnt myself on the stove just last week."

Hungary gasped, "Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine!" Austria said condescendingly. "It'll heal."

"I'm sorry, I worry about you too much, don't I?" Hungary asked sheepishly.

"Yes, from what I've heard, I should be worried about you. Revolution, counter revolution, war; my time has been relatively pleasant by comparison."

"Pleasant?"

"Well, boring," Austria corrected. "Although there's a worrying number of my people who think we should live with Germany and Prussia." Austria shuddered. "I cannot be under the same roof as Prussia, we'll murder each other. Actually he'd murder me, I'd probably try and fail."

"Don't get worked up, it's not like it will actually happen," Hungary stroked his arm comfortingly.

"How do you know?" Austria quizzed.

"Because I won't let it," she whispered delicately.

That seemed to be enough for Austria as he put his arm around her shoulder and gazed back at the scenery.

"It sure is pretty tonight," Hungary said, trying to find some conversation.

"Its beauty has nothing on your own," Austria complimented.

Hungary snorted, "Where'd you come up with that one?" She asked playfully.

"The moment I saw you this evening," he continued.

"Wish I could say the same, you still haven't done anything with this," she teased and pulled his hair.

"D-Don't touch my Mariazell!" Austria whined.

Hungary giggled put then moved her hand down slightly to stroke his cheek. "I've missed you."

"And I you," he responded.

Hungary found herself unable to stop smiling, even Austria seemed to have a ghost of a smile threatening to break through. "So, erm, what do you make of the music here?"

Austria nodded, "I have to give them credit, they are skilled. I noticed a few off notes in their pieces at the beginning but they seem to have settled into the swing of things reasonably well."

"Well then," she shook herself free from his arm then held out her own hand, "Mr Austria, would you care to dance?"

"Ah they've begun to play_ Akademische Festouvertüre, _one of my own you know-"

Hungary cut him off, "I don't care what it is; I just want to dance."

"Oh," Austria cleared his throat and took her hand.

She gently led him back through to the main hall, Denmark giving Austria a notable wink as they passed by. There were a few more people dancing now, which gave her more confidence. Throwing her handbag to Liechtenstein, she led him into the middle of the dance floor.

As she wrapped one arm around his side, he took her other hand and said, "Please, allow me."

"Show me your moves," she retorted.

They didn't say any more words to one another as the music took them both, they didn't have to. All they had to do was dance and everything else was an irrelevance. All the problems at home, the poverty, the unemployment, the Government, it all seemed to disappear. Just for this moment.

The music came to an end all too soon and they parted. "Next piece?" Hungary asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure if there'll be a next piece," Austria gestured to where the band was.

Hungary felt a little sad as she saw Britain up there ordering the room to be quiet. "If I may have everyone's attention, please?" Britain was saying.

"Get off, no one likes you!" Scotland yelled. Wales sniggered besides him. It was rare to see them around these days, Hungary noted. Some people even speculated England kept them locked up in his basement or something.

"I apologise for my brothers. I wasn't going to bring them, but I couldn't find any available kennels this evening," Britain snarked. "I was just saying that we should all take our seats as our meals are ready."

Everyone stood still for a few agonising moments. China finally popped the question everyone had on their minds, "Did you make it?"

"Not me personally, why?" Britain seemed confused.

There was a collective sigh of relief and everyone moved towards the tables at the end of the room. Hungary retrieved her handbag from Liechtenstein and followed Austria to their meal.

As Austria held out a chair for her to sit on, they were interrupted by Britain. "I'm afraid that's not your seat."

"What?" Hungary replied in confusion.

"We all have allocated seats, look," Britain picked up a piece of paper from the table which her and Austria must have missed. 'Cuba' was written on it.

"Oh," Hungary said with disappointment.

"Austria, you're over there, next to where Portugal is sitting and Hungary, you're with me actually," Britain explained.

Austria and Hungary bid each other a quick farewell and sat at their respective tables. Hungary was sitting with Britain, America and Germany.

Germany nodded and she returned a smile as she sat down. America barely looked up; he was busy looking at the door to what were presumably the kitchens.

"Any reason for the seating plan?" Hungary questioned.

"Yes actually, I decided it was the perfect way to allow the four of us an uninterrupted conversation," Britain replied.

"Hm? What do you want with us?" Germany queried.

"America and I have had a little brainstorming and we've got something together for the both of you, for everyone really, isn't that right?" Britain nudged America who seemed to come to his senses.

"Isn't wha?" America turned in confusion.

"The plan, you idiot!" Britain growled under his breath.

"Does it involve getting the food here any quicker?" America groaned.

"No it doesn't-"

"Then I don't really care right now!" America interrupted.

Britain muttered curses under his breath. "Germany, you're struggling with those payments, right?"

Germany rubbed his forehead, "I told you, I haven't got the money, but I'll work something out."

"We've already done it," Britain gave a smug smile.

"Foods here!" America pointed excitedly. Several waiters were handing out plates with the starters to the various tables. Their hands were so full Hungary was sure one of them would drop something. They didn't however. America's face fell when the plate was placed delicately in front of him.

"What's wrong now?" Britain snapped.

"This is tiny!" America complained.

"Actually this seems pretty generous to me," Hungary examined the Crab Chutney in front of her.

"For the first course, certainly," Germany agreed.

Britain nodded with approval while America still viewed his plate with disappointment etched onto his face. Nonetheless, he almost immediately began to dig into his meal.

"So, what's this plan?" Hungary inquired as they all began to eat.

"Well," Britain began, finishing his mouthful, "Our German friend here is the key."

"Me?" Germany responded.

"Yes, your economy is linked to everyone's and it's in terrible shape. Therefore, we're going to kick start it," Britain turned to Hungary; "the knock on effect will give a secure trading partner for everyone else in the region and hopefully bring stability to all economies."

"How are you going to do this?" Germany queried.

"A little thank you would be nice first," Britain rolled his eyes.

"…thanks," Germany grunted, clearly uncomfortable with the concept.

"America, can you actually talk?" Britain nudged his companion in the ribs.

"Oh yeah!" America sprayed crab over the table as he spoke.

"I thought I raised you not to speak with your mouth full," Britain grumbled.

America continued as if there'd been no interruption, "Check it out, I'm gonna give you some money to spend and by my calculations, if you spend it like this, then you should be able to fix things up in no time!" America passed a scrap of paper over to Germany.

Germany took the paper and his eyes rose. "You did this?"

"Economics is kinda my forte," America said proudly.

"I helped," Britain added.

"Then why is it all my money?" America asked.

"Because I spent half my cash trying to stop Germany murdering France and Belgium while you were happily selling weapons to everyone and making a healthy prophet out of our misery!" Britain objected.

Just as America opened his mouth to retort, Hungary butted in, "OK, OK! Just don't argue!"

"They do this all the time, I'll even let the 'murdering' remark go, just leave them to it," Germany shrugged and took the final bite from his starter.

"No, no, she's right. Now is not the time for petty squabbles," Britain regained his composer.

"But you started it," America protested.

"I did not!" Britain replied. "You started it!"

"Er, so let's see if I've got this straight," Hungary attempted to steer to conversation back on track. "You help Germany and Germany can help me?"

"That's the simplified version of it, yes," Britain nodded as he too finished his meal.

"Why not just give me some of that money?" Hungary asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea to tie everyone to America," Britain pointed out.

"I don't want everyone to be tied to me," America continued, "I just want to be left alone." There was a child like element to that last part of America's sentence.

The rest of the meal was spent exchanging pleasantries. Hungary had spared a few glances over at Austria who was focussed on examining his own food. Germany had explained his own troubles and Hungary was forced to go over hers again. Britain and America squabbled like children almost the entire time. It was at dessert that events kicked off.

"-and that is how I killed a man with a lampshade and the sole of his own shoe," Germany finished.

"…fascinating," Britain responded.

"Eww," America stuck out his tongue.

But Hungary was distracted by a commotion nearby. Loud thuds and raised voices were coming from one of the tables close by.

"Britain?" She tried to get her host's attention

"Yes?"

"You didn't put Greece and Turkey on the same table did you?" She had spotted the pair struggling against one another, hands tangled and yelling curses. The other two occupants of the table, Seychelles and Finland, looked rather embarrassed.

"Oh… Bollocks…" Britain cursed.

Turkey succeeded and slammed his opponent's face into the dessert, trifle sponge cake with custard and fruit. Greece attempted to throw the remains at Turkey, but the large man dodged and the stray food struck Spain in the back of his head. At first Spain seemed to laugh it off, but then his eyes flashed dangerously and he launched his own dessert back at Greece. Unfortunately he missed and instead splattered Seychelles' posh blue dress.

"I'll lick it off!" France volunteered from the table next to them.

"Like hell you will!" Seychelles snarled and thrust her plate into France's face.

"No, no, no, no, no," Britain muttered to himself as he saw where it was leading.

Suddenly Prussia stood up from his table and yelled, "FOOD FIGHT!" As he lobbed his sponge cake at an unsuspecting Lithuania.

"Everybody get down!" Germany shouted at the top of lungs, his military instincts clearly taking over as he dived at Hungary, tackling her to the floor and taking the entire table down with him.

"What are you-" she began but Germany hushed her.

"We use this for cover!" Germany gestured to the table, now on its side. As they were at the corner of the dining area it might actually work.

Britain and America appeared besides them in an instant, both crouching for the safety of the table as bits of food began to fly everywhere.

"Hahaha! This is going to be incredible!" America said, a picture of glee on his face.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Britain was still muttering.

"I propose a defensive pact between the four of us," Germany peered over the edge of the table. "If any of the four of us are attacked, we join forces to bring them down! This will give us the advantage of numbers as most of the others seem to be attacking independently!"

"But I wanna hit Britain," America whined.

Britain seemed in a daze. He stood up slowly.

"Mr Britain, you can't-" Hungary made to pull him back down but Germany pinned her to the floor.

"He's lost! Don't waste your own life as well!" Germany had gone full soldier.

"Everyone I am going to appeal for calm right now!" Britain said sternly. He got a trifle to the chest for his trouble.

"Our Ally is hit!" Germany yelled dramatically.

Although Hungary didn't see who had hit Britain, she did hear a Scottish accent say, "I got 'im!"

Britain's fist trembled with barely contained rage. "WANKER!" he screamed. Snatching up some food from the floor, Hungary, Germany and America peered up to see Britain pelt Scotland in the face.

"Headshot! WOO!" America pumped his fist. "Not bad!"

"Now! Press on while we have the advantage!" Germany too began to hurl food at Scotland who ran for cover.

Hungary found herself getting caught up in the atmosphere. She scooped up a left over piece of dessert and scanned for a suitable target. Scotland was now out of range for any of them. Then she spotted Romania. A sly smile on her face, Hungary threw her weapon at the man, hitting the side of his face and knocking his bowler hat clean off.

"Yes!" Hungary retreated behind the table immediately.

"Another headshot! We're the best alliance ever!" America said triumphantly.

"Then you need to actually do something!" Britain ordered.

"Alright but I need a good target first, who should I get?" America looked around for a suitable victim.

"France," Britain, Germany and Hungary all said in unison.

"Done!" America said as he struck France on the shoulder. "Man, almost headshot."

Another figure skidded in besides them.

Hey guys, I've-" Prussia began but Germany tackled him.

"How can we trust you?!" He demanded.

"W-West, it's me!" Prussia struggled against his brother.

"So? In a situation like this, my brother would be prone to betrayal for his own twisted amusement!"

"I brought ammo, look!" Prussia had been holding several plates' worth of food which he'd since dropped after being attacked by his younger brother.

"Yes, more provisions will be necessary if we hope to hold out," Germany said thoughtfully and released Prussia.

Hungary noticed the older German was covered in splotches in food from top to bottom, he'd clearly been in the heart of it.

"Our pact has been expanded to include Prussia. Any objections?" Germany turned to his comrades.

Hungary, Britain and America shook their heads.

"OK then. The kitchen staff are handing out leftovers resupplying, they think this is good fun too. My main enemy out there was Poland who got surprisingly defensive when I kept whacking Lithuania. Look out for him!" Prussia was saying while Germany took notes.

"List of enemies so far: Scotland, Romania, France and Poland. Is that clear everyone? Be on guard for any of these individuals in particular but still trust no one!" Germany shouted like their drill sergeant.

Britain suddenly began talking to thin air, "I'm not sure I can let you do this, Flying Mint bunny. What if you get hit in the cross fire? Yes I know most people can't see you… Oh? How high are we talking?"

"Britain's very high by the sound of it," America sighed.

"Augh, how horrible!" Another figure joined them, this time from the other side next to Britain. It was Austria. His glasses were crooked with food splattered both on the side of his face and his back. It looked like he had crawled here.

"Mr Austria, are you OK?" Hungary voiced her concern.

"Within reason," he replied with exhaustion.

"Kesesesesese!" Prussia laughed loudly and obnoxiously. "Someone get you there, aristocrat?"

"We both know you hit my face," Austria huffed.

"Who hit your back? I'll get them!" Hungary peeked over the table again.

"Korea," Austria sighed.

"Which one?"

"South."

"Right," Hungary spotted her long sleeved mark and managed to score a direct hit. "I have avenged you, Mr Austria!"

"Wonderful," Austria replied dryly.

"Southern Korea added to our list," Germany shouted to them all.

"Alright then go, Flying Mint Bunny! I believe in you!" Britain announced just before yet another man jumped over the table and into Germany's arms.

"Germany, help!" Italy yelled hysterically, a bit of fruit hanging from his hair.

"W-why me?!" Germany demanded.

"Because I saw you and thought you're big and strong and nice and you'll help me!" Italy explained.

"J-just stay down in cover," Germany groaned.

"We're getting a bit crowded here," Britain pointed out; he seemed to have returned to reality.

"We need to evict someone," Prussia said. "I vote Austria."

"I vote Italy because he's weak, can't drive and is usually drunk" America said.

"Austria is weak too," Prussia argued. "At least Italy is kinda cute when he does it."

"I vote Prussia because he's irritating," Hungary piped up.

"I concur," Austria nodded.

"Hungary? I thought we were getting along better again?" Prussia looked at her like a child being told off.

"Enough!" Germany roared. "No man gets left behind! We're one unit and we shall win together!"

"Ho-ray!" Italy cheered.

* * *

"My suit… ruined," Austria was saying as they left the building and stepped onto the gravel outside.

"I'm not sure if I can wear this dress again either," Hungary replied in a much more cheerful tone.

"I suppose this is goodbye?" Austria turned to her.

"Last time you ran off. I'm not letting that happen again, I want a proper farewell this time," Hungary told him.

"I'm sorry about that but I couldn't face you. Not after I dragged you into that war and lost us everything," Austria admitted.

"Just shh, we'll be alright," she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him. "We'll be alright," she repeated, telling herself as much as him.

Britain loudly cleared his throat besides them. "Miss Hungary? Your car is here." He looked rather funny, trying to regain his gentlemanly composure following some rather ungentlemanly behaviour inside. Add to that, he still had bits of food clinging to his hair and jacket.

"Thank you for the party it was a lot of fun," she told him.

"You're welcome," Britain nodded in acknowledgment.

"Mr Austria?" She turned back to her ex-husband.

"Yes?"

"We'll see each other around, won't we?" She questioned tentatively.

"I… cannot guaranty it," Austria admitted.

Hungary felt a little blow to her stomach. _Why couldn't the idiot just pretend, just for me? _She wordlessly drew herself away from Austria and moved back to the vehicle.

"Goodbye, Mr Austria," she said as she entered the backseat.

"Goodbye," he replied.

Hungary sighed as the engine erupted and prepared to be drawn back to the chaos of her home land. At least she'd had one night of carefree fun before her nightmare returned.

* * *

**_(A/N): Well that turned out about 3x longer than I intended. That's why it took so long, that food fight was a lot of fun to write. Again, I'll point out exact dates and stuff are hard to squeeze in so I have to sacrifice some accuracy for entertainment otherwise it doesn't flow well at all. Regarding Romania's characterization in this, I'll point out that he's usually a nice, fun loving guy, but Hungary makes him angry just like he makes her angry. As we're following Hungary this other side to him may not appear much. I also fear this turning increasingly France bashing as look back over my work, I assure you that is not the intention. So hope you have time for a review, they brighten me up and encourage me to write more thanks :)_**


	5. We're experiencing technical difficulty

**_(A/N): OK, a little explanation. This story is not dead. But my laptop is. I can usually only access the internet from my phone now. Unfortunately my laptop had the next chapter on it when it died but I'm trying to recover the hard drive and hoping I won't have to rewrite it all. This is just a little something I typed up while at my grandparents to try and keep this story somewhat alive in the mean time. I was a little strapped for time so I'm not sure if its anything special more keeping my writing appetite satified. Character development stuff outside the main plot so yeah. Hope you're not angry with me!_**

* * *

1635

Hungary looked to her left and to her right at the small German village she'd now entered, only the rhythmic sound of her horse's hooves clacking against the gravelly path keeping her company. It had been true what she'd heard, this village looked worse for wear. Buildings were torn apart with the interior of most houses were now on display for the world to see and the weather to ravage. She felt a tug of sympathy on her heartstrings for the villagers who'd have no shelter from the constantly pounding rain; it had only just taken a drizzly pause. But the worst part was the smell. Mixed in with the smell of burnt wood and straw was that was roasting flesh. Whether it was from livestock or from humans Hungary couldn't tell but she dreaded the answer. If what Austria had told her was true, Prussia had shown a remarkable sense of responsibility in actually trying to help his people in the aftermath of a conflict. It was something she hadn't heard of the hot-blooded egoist doing before. Then again, she thought as she once more took in the damage she'd seen both here and on the long journey here, had Prussia's people ever been damaged as much as they had been now?

Hungary's horse snorted and came to an abrupt halt. "Easy girl," she chimed softly, stroking the animal behind its ear. "You hear something?" The horse snorted again and Hungary looked up to find an elderly man was emerging from the side of the blacksmiths nearby.

The man's face was scrunched up, several teeth missing and his long silver-grey hair left in wisps. He held a clumsily held a pike in his right arm. His baggy eyes displaying both anger and fear but they melted into confusion when he had a clear view of Hungary.

"You're... a woman?" He muttered in German under his breath. "I could have sworn you were a Habsburg knight," he told her louder, "I was about to run you through with this," he waved the pike around a little.

"I'm sure you were," Hungary noted that the man could barely hold his weapon straight, let alone overpower her. "I'm looking for a man. He's about medium build, scruffy white hair, red eyes and really annoying, cocky personality."

"Might be I know someone like that. Might be that I don't," the man was being difficult. "Not sure why I should give out any information to someone with those banners," he nodded at the double -headed eagle set against gold which hung off of her horse.

"I'm here as an envoy, not to cause any trouble," Hungary explained. The man still appeared unconvinced as he had narrowed his eyes sceptically. "I have coin," she relented.

At this the man clearly perked up. "How much have you got?"

Hungary threw him a small bag tied with string that she'd withdrawn from a pocket on her leg. After a moments delay, the old man loosened the string and gazed inside. His expression of delight at the bag's contents was none too subtle. A smile cracked at his lips.

"We're a small village so I notice who comes and goes. Someone of your description turned up a few days back. He said he was volunteering to help clean up this mess. I've heard he spends a lot of time on the hill over in the east," the old man hadn't taken his eyes off of the bag of coins during his entire explanation.

"Thank you for your time," Hungary nodded in respect and pulled on her horse's reigns, encouraging the beast to march east.

...

Just as the old man had said, there was an albino figure sitting cross-legged at the top of the nearest grassy hill to the village, gazing back at the collection of homes in apparent thoughtfulness. 'Prussia' and 'thoughtfulness' were not two words Hungary usually placed together.

She dismounted her ride, giving her horse an affectionate pat on its side before she tied it by the reins to a rather thin, dead looking tree.

Prussia was still transfixed by the village, it seemed. He hadn't even looked up as she approached. Not wanting to sneak up on him, she called out a greeting.

Prussia immediately scrambled to his feet, causing Hungary to pause and keep her distance.

"You?" Prussia blinked in confusion. "What are you doing here?" He snapped harshly. She wasn't used to Prussia acting like this. Usually she'd be brushing him off, not the other way around.

"I'm here to check up on you. Believe it or not, Austria is a little worried," Prussia snorted at this. "And so am I," she added.

"Why does your _boyfriend _care about me?" Prussia looked back at the village. Faint smoke was rising from the centre, something Hungary hadn't noticed on her way in. "Look what he's done here."

"That's not fair," Hungary retorted. "He didn't do this. He can't control every soldier's actions. A lot of them are mercenaries anyway. Irish," she added as though that explained it.

"He should have stopped them," Prussia snarled. "They fly his flag, they're his responsibility."

"How?" Hungary asked disbelieving. "He's hundreds of miles away."

"Still his fault," Prussia muttered.

"I'll bare that in mind when I see your guys doing anything dodgy," Hungary rolled her eyes.

Prussia ignored her remark. "Austria actually sent you here to check on me?" He quizzed her sceptically.

"He wanted someone to see how you were coping. He knows this hasn't been easy for you. I volunteered," Hungary explained, carefully analysing his face to check for any softening expression.

"He actually said he was worried?"

"Well not in direct words, he's too stubborn for that, but he is, I can tell," Hungary elaborated.

"There's more, isn't there?" Prussia nudged her.

Hungary decided she didn't like this Prussia. He was too serious, too quiet and too good at finding the details. She was beginning to miss her narcissistic, loud and slightly dense when it came to people version of Prussia.

"He wants to know when you'll be ready to stand with us against the enemy," Hungary sighed.

"I knew it," Prussia shook his head and turned away from her. "He's beaten me down and now wants to set me on my old Allies, like a dog."

"Hey, it's not like that," Hungary protested, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to face her once more. "I can tell him you're not ready, he'll understand."

Prussia stared at her for a moment and then a humourless smile cracked upon his lips. "When did you become his servant?"

"Servant?" Hungary repeated mouth agape. "I'm not his servant. I'm his... his..." she searched for the right word.

"Pet?" Prussia offered. There was a loud cracking sound as Hungary struck his face in a flash of anger.

"Don't you dare!" She warned venomously.

Prussia held his hand to his already reddening check. "What was that?" He sneered. "A slap? You really have turned into a girly girl."

"Oh, I'm sorry, here!" Hungary snarled as she delivered a swift punch to the Prussian's gut.

Prussia wheezed and staggered back slightly; she'd obviously caught him off guard. Hungary dully noted that the rain was beginning to pick up again after a few drops splashed against her cheeks.

"That's more like it," Prussia gave a lopsided grin as he awkwardly sat back on the grass, still nursing his gut.

"I'm... sorry," Hungary stated as her anger began to wash away with the rain. "You've been through a lot and I don't think I've even asked how you are." Hungary sat down beside him. "So how are you?"

"Pretty crappy with all the hordes of Catholics slaughtering my people," Prussia responded bluntly. He didn't even look at her.

"You know," Hungary attempted to lighten the conversation somewhat, "of all the nations to convert to Protestantism, I never thought it would be you, mister '_German Order of Brothers in Jerusalem_'."

"_Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem_," Prussia corrected with a faint smile.

"Yeah that's what I said," Hungary gave him a playful push.

"You should have known I was never going to be tied down forever. I'm a free spirit, Hungary. I do what I want, when I want," Prussia bragged.

"Without thinking about the consequences, yes. I've noticed," Hungary said.

Prussia gazed back over the little village at the bottom of the hill. "I'm not going to let this happen again, you know," he said quietly. "I've spent too much time being stepped on these days, by Poland, Sweden and now Austria. I'm going to be strong again, I'll make sure of it and then they'll all pay," he muttered darkly.

"You know I'm going to keep fighting for Mr Austria, right?" Hungary told him.

"Oh yeah," Prussia sighed. "Well you sure you want to fight for that loser?"

Hungary nodded. "He'd fall apart without me there to do the hard work."

"But I'm so much better than him!" Prussia objected, wagging his finger dramatically. "I'll have him begging at my feet one day soon, you watch and see!"

"I've told you. I'm going to stick it out with Austria."

"Alright, see you on the battlefield I guess," Prussia relented. "I hope I don't kill you too hard," he joked.

"Ha," Hungary grinned, "I'd like to see you try. I'll be all over you!"

There was a pause in the conversation where the rain became a lot more noticeable.

"Hungary?" Prussia finally spoke.

"Yup?"

"Did you really come out here just find me?" He asked slowly.

"I did. What's your point?" Hungary pressed him.

"Then I've been totally depressing this whole time. You came here to find the awesome me, not this two-bit whiney guy!" Prussia suddenly rose to his feet. "Come on!" he offered his hand to Hungary, still sitting on the grass.

"Where are we going?" She spared a glance back to her horse which was feasting on the grass.

"We are going to my hidden beer stash and getting so drunk we can hardly stand," Prussia said.

"Well how could I refuse?" Hungary grinned mischievously and took his hand.

* * *

_**30 Years War was the climax of Europe's Catholic vs Protestant mess. It devastated the German Kingdoms with Prussia losing between 40%-60% of its population. Prussia responded by increasing the size and training of its armies to stop a catastrophe like this happening ever again, putting them on the path of a Great Power. I always thought that someone could make something cool with Hetalia out of that material.**_

_**Again this is just something outside the main plot to keep me happy that I'm still trying to work on this story. I'm a little uncertain so pop a review and let me know what you think, it'll be most appreciated!**_


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